I, like most people have developed a taste for Chinese food and used to order it, enjoy it and found myself becoming addicted to it. Gradually I began to wean myself off the attraction. What I discovered was that although I enjoyed the food it gave me nothing back in return. Then I remembered, I had never seen a fat Chinese person.
Stay with me!
No matter the quantity of this food one ate, you never got anything back in return. Yes the food was tasty and palatable but by design, it’s made to keep you un-sated and dependent.
I made a conscious decision to return to my known and trusted African food like,..Eba, fufu, pounded yam, efo riro, egusi, gbegiri,okro, jollof rice,…hmmn yummy!
I think you get my drift.
You see, when I ate the African way, its guaranteed satisfaction, tasty, palatable and made you sated. In comparison to the Great Chinese Takeaway, there was no competition. African food always!
Today in several African countries our Governments have welcomed in the “Great Chinese Takeaway” hereafter known as “GCT” From Nigeria to Niger, Mali to Mauritius, Burkina Faso to Benin, Cote d Voire to Cotonou. East to West, South to Central. The “GCT” is evident. Our Governments have welcomed in the “GCT”.
It’s a Greek Tragedy for this particular observer. Its akin to the Greeks bearing gifts.
Wiser men than me have made the same observation.
Virgil’s Aeneid, book 2, 19BC: ‘do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts’.
Sophocles (496-406 BC) in Ajax: ‘nought from the Greeks hath sped well’. So now I find that ancient proverb truer foes. ‘gifts are no gifts: profit they none.
This particular proverb leads me nicely to two others, our African leaders should observe: ‘ A fool and his money are soon parted’ ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a good cure’
The time to observe the above proverbs is now for us in Africa. When I say that the ‘GCT’ has arrived in Africa and like their food, does not sustain your appetite, nor fulfils your ambition to be well fed.
The Chinese are in Africa in a huge way. They are constructing our roads, schools, infrastructures, hospitals and government buildings, and even entire cities! What they offer is the elixir of instant gratification. However, on closer inspection what we are getting in Africa is China’s own solution to its unemployment problem. Under the guise of supplying expert professionals, the majority of the workers sent from China have been discovered to be ex-prisoners, offenders or felons who are offered the opportunity to serve their term by working in Africa on projects which really only benefits the Chinese economy. Instead of doing jail term!
Would a felon be so lucky!
Superb, I hear some of you say. But how is this benefitting Africa? Africa has high graduate unemployment, skilled unemployment, and yet these jobs being created on African soil are not being offered to Africans! In reality, what they get is the harsh labour aspect and menial aspect of these jobs. The GCT come with their own workers, living in safe and exclusive neighborhoods. Good schools, great infrastructures and level of development. There is a misconception that the constructions are of superior quality. However, in the GCT’s own backyard there have been instances of constructions collapsing due to use of inferior materials.
It wouldn’t be bad if we were paying peanuts and hence getting monkeys. What Africa is paying is ‘Top Dollar’ and I just don’t mean money. I mean in the digression of its people. Our own people are being denied jobs created from African wealth by African tax payers. University graduates are leaving Uni without prospect of work, yet an already burgeoning economy gets fatter thru its “lean and mean” economic foreign policy. Bravo, for fuckin China! The GCT, it makes me sick. Our leaders in Africa with their slavish mentality and lack of foresight- long known by the educated elite as ‘educated illiterates’ constantly make the same mistakes.
By all means have Foreign experts, but it should be covenanted to full and comprehensive training for our Engineers, graduates, and blue collar workers to provide full enablement. Send back the Chinese felons as we have enough of those in Africa. We should train our own felons on the Chinese model to give back to the community which they have offended. In the west, Africans and in particular Nigerians are known for the 419 scam. While not condoning these acts, one can understand why it’s done, when there are no choices for survival.
The GCT come to Africa to build our infrastructures,.. yada! yada! But they take away from the continent its wealth. The money from the contracts awarded do not stay in Africa. It’s a new form of colonialism as observed recently by America’s Foreign Secretary Hilary Rodham Clinton. When you consider children as young as 4 or 5 are used to find the quartz and elements used in our cell phones and fancy electronic gadgetry. These children are paid less than 20p a day for these heinous tasks, at times descending 20 to 50 feet into cracks and fissures in the earth. Highly dangerous with the earth moving and trapping these children. This is happening right now in central African countries.
The GCT.
African poverty and development breeds certain necessity but it should not be at the cost of African lives, propagating what is essentially slavery. Neo Colonialism if you will.
Some might argue that Africa needs this structured development, but I ask you, at what price? Might we need an African version of the ‘Arab Spring’. ‘An African Spring’? Disenchanted African youths are leaving Africa in droves and guess where they are heading,…?
Unfortunately China is too far for Africans to besiege en-masse in return for the current rape of Africa. We need to be careful of the ‘Great Chinese Takeaway’ it does exactly what it says on the tin. Takes away Africa’s future.
Runningwater cannot be stopped – it’s a shining light on truth: observations made here are independent observations. I represent nobody nor am I affiliated to anyone.
